Washington, D.C. — Today the Center for American Progress released a series of infographics illustrating a serious challenge facing our nation: containing the skyrocketing costs of health care. While the new health care law, which includes an array of reforms to the way health care is paid for and delivered, certainly marks a step in the right direction, additional reforms will be required in order to combat this growing crisis.

National health spending is projected to continue to grow faster than the economy, increasing from 18 percent of the economy to about 25 percent by 2037. Even with the new law, federal health spending is projected to increase from 25 percent of total federal spending to about 40 percent by 2037. These trends could squeeze out critical investments in education and infrastructure, contribute to unsustainable debt levels, and constrain wage increases for middle-class workers.